Mop assembly

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a mop assembly that collects falling liquids from a mop head while the mop head is oriented towards a ceiling. The assembly includes a collection bucket, the collection bucket having one or more sides and a base forming a cavity with an opening, the base having an aperture, a mop handle having a first end, the mop handle passing through the aperture, the opening of the collection bucket oriented towards the first end, and a mop head in communication with the first end, the mop head extending beyond the cavity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present application relates to mops, and more particularly to ceiling mops.

2. Description of Related Art

Mops are generally known for their use in cleaning floors. Typical mops have an elongated rod handle with a mop head attached to one end of the handle. The mop head is made of a liquid absorbent material, such as a sponge or a fibrous cloth, that allows the user to soak up spilled liquids on a floor and dispose of the soaked up liquid in a wash bucket using a strainer that squeezes the liquid out of the mop head. For general purpose cleaning, the user may fill the wash bucket with soapy water, dip the mop head in the soapy water, and mop the floor to remove particulate dirt and debris with the mop head by pushing against the mop handle.

While this traditional method of mopping is useful for floors, cleaning ceilings using this method presents a wet experience for the user as liquids from the mop may rain down upon the user as the mop head is raised overhead. This also presents a problem when falling liquids are undesirable on items other than the user. For example, in food production facilities, such as poultry, meat, and beverage manufacturing factories, condensation may accumulate and fall from the factory ceiling and subsequently contaminate food products located below. To prevent contamination, the condensation must be removed before the condensation begins to drip; however, while traditional mopping methods may be used to remove the condensation, the collected condensation may still drip from the mop head onto food products and/or onto the user. It is therefore desired to develop a mop that collects falling liquids from a mop head while the mop head is oriented towards a ceiling.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a mop assembly that collects falling liquids from a mop head while the mop head is oriented towards a ceiling. In one embodiment of the present invention, an assembly is provided comprising: a collection bucket having one or more sides and a base, the one or more sides and the base forming a cavity with an opening, the base having an aperture; a mop handle having a first end and a second end, the mop handle passing through the aperture, the opening of the collection bucket oriented towards the first end; and a mop head in communication with the first end, the mop head extending beyond the cavity.

Ultimately the invention may take many embodiments. In these ways, the present invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in the prior art.

The more important features have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and to ensure that the present contribution to the art is appreciated. Additional features will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow.

Many objects of the present application will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments are capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the various purposes of the present design. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the application are set forth in the appended claims. However, the application itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a mop assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the mop assembly of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view viewing a mop head of the mop assembly of FIG. 1.

While the embodiments and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the preferred embodiment are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present application, the devices, members, apparatuses, etc. described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use of terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such components should be understood to describe a relative relationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such components, respectively, as the embodiments described herein may be oriented in any desired direction.

The assembly and method in accordance with the present invention overcomes one or more of the above-discussed problems produced by mops while mopping ceilings. In particular, the system of the present invention is a mop having a collection bucket that collects falling liquids from a mop head while the mop head is oriented towards a ceiling. Furthermore, the system can optionally include a drainage port located on the collection bucket that allows the user to drain liquids accumulated in the collection bucket without orienting the mop head towards the ground, thereby saving the user time and effort from having to repeatedly orient the mop head between the ceiling and the floor in order to drain the collection bucket.

The system will be understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system may be presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless otherwise described.

The system of the present application is illustrated in the associated drawings. As used herein, “system” and “assembly” are used interchangeably. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Additional features and functions are illustrated and discussed below.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements in form and function throughout the several views. FIGS. 1-3 illustrate various views of a mop assembly.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a front view of mop assembly 100 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, mop assembly 100 includes, but is not limited to, collection bucket 101, mop handle 112, and mop head 117. In general collection bucket 101 is a bucket for collecting liquids that may fall from mop head 117. Collection bucket 101 has one or more sides (i.e., sides 103 a-d) and a base (i.e., base 105), wherein the one or more sides and the base form a cavity (i.e., cavity 107) with an opening (i.e., opening 111). Furthermore, collection bucket 101 has aperture 109 located on base 105 for receiving a mop handle that passes through base 105.

In general, mop handle 113 and mop head 113 are components typically found on mops known in the art, wherein mop handle 113 is generally used by a user for gripping mop assembly 101, and mop head 113 is an mop head composed of a liquid absorbent material such as a sponge or a fibrous cloth. Mop handle 113 has first end 115 a and second end 115 b wherein mop head 117 is in communication with first end 115 a. In this figure, mop handle 113 passes through aperture 109 wherein opening 111 of collection bucket 101 is oriented towards first end 115 a. In general, mop head 117 extends beyond cavity 107 of collection bucket 101. In other words, collection bucket 101 does not cover mop head 117 during mopping use. In general, opening 111 of collection bucket 101 is larger than a width and a length of the mop head. In this figure, opening 111 is shown to be larger than length 123 a of mop head 117; furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, opening 111 is larger than width 123 b.

Optionally, mop handle 113 may include a telescoping handle generally known in the art for extending a length of the mop handle. In this figure, telescoping member 127 sheaths over a portion of mop handle 113.

Optionally, mop handle 113 may comprise of two members conjoined by a hinge that permits angle rotation of the mop head with the collection bucket. In this figure, mop handle 113 is comprised of proximate handle 129 corresponding with second end 115 b, distal handle 131 corresponding with first end 115 a, and hinge 133 in communication with proximate handle 129 and distal handle 131. Hinge 133 permits selective angle configurations between proximate handle 129 and distal handle 131 about hinge axis 135, wherein hinge 133 permits an angular range of 90 degrees. Furthermore, proximate handle 129 may be a telescoping handle.

In general, collection bucket 101 has a drainage port for draining accumulated liquids collected in collection bucket 101. In FIG. 1, drainage port 119 is located on side 103 b of collection bucket 101. However, optionally, drainage port 119 may be located on base 105. In general, drainage port 119 is selectively closable with a plug.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a side view of mop assembly 100 is illustrated in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a perspective view viewing mop head 117 of the mop assembly. As shown this figure, mop handle 113 passes through aperture 109 of collection bucket 101. Furthermore, plug 121 is shown to selectively close drainage port 119. Plug 121 may be a snap plug or a threaded plug.

As a method of using mop assembly 100, a user obtains mop assembly 100 and holds mop assembly 100 by mop handle 113 with mop head 117 oriented towards a ceiling. The user then wipes the ceiling with mop head 117, thereby collecting condensation that accumulated on the ceiling. Any excess condensation that mop head 117 is unable to absorb is collected in cavity 107 of collection bucket 101 by falling from mop head 117 into cavity 107. As such, collection bucket 101 prevents excess condensation from falling onto the user or onto a floor beneath the ceiling. The user then drains the excess condensation from collection bucket 101 at a desired location, such as a drain or a wash bucket. In one approach, the user drains excess condensation from collection bucket 101 by inverting mop assembly 101 such that mop head 117 is oriented towards a ground, thereby permitting the excess condensation to drain from opening 111 of collection bucket 101 by virtue of gravity. Optionally, the user may choose not to invert mop assembly 101 to drain collection bucket 101, but instead by removing plug 121 from drainage port 119 located on collection bucket 101, thereby permitting the excess condensation to drain from drainage port 119 by virtue of gravity.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the application may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. It is apparent that an application with significant advantages has been described and illustrated. Although the present application is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. a mop assembly, comprising: a collection bucket having one or more sides and a base, the one or more sides and the base forming a cavity with an opening, the base having an aperture; a mop handle having a first end and a second end, the mop handle passing through the aperture, the opening of the collection bucket oriented towards the first end; and a mop head in communication with the first end, the mop head extending beyond the cavity.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a drainage port located on the collection bucket.
 3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the drainage port is selectively closeable with a plug.
 4. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the drainage port is located on a side of the one or more sides.
 5. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the drainage port is located on the base of the collection bucket.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the opening of the collection bucket is larger than a width and a length of the mop head.
 7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the mop handle is a telescoping handle.
 8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the mop handle comprises a proximate handle corresponding with the second end, a distal handle corresponding with the first end, and a hinge in communication with the proximate handle and the distal handle, the hinge permitting selective angle configurations between the proximate handle and the distal handle about a hinge axis.
 9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the hinge permits an angular range of 90 degrees.
 10. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the proximate handle is a telescoping handle
 11. A method of using a mop assembly, comprising: obtaining a mop assembly of claim 1; holding the assembly by the mop handle, the mop head oriented towards a ceiling; wiping the ceiling with the mop head, thereby collecting condensation that accumulated on the ceiling; collecting excess condensation in the cavity of the collection bucket, wherein the excess condensation falls from the mop head that collected the condensation; and draining the excess condensation from the collection bucket.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein draining the excess condensation further comprises: inverting the mop assembly such that the mop head is oriented towards the ground, thereby permitting the excess condensation to drain from the opening of the collection bucket by virtue of gravity.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein draining the excess condensation further comprises: removing a plug from a drainage port located on the collection bucket, thereby permitting the excess condensation to drain from the drainage port by virtue of gravity.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the drainage port is located on a side of the one or more sides of the collection bucket.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the drainage port is located on the base of the collection bucket.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the mop handle is a telescoping handle.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising telescoping the mop handle.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the mop handle comprises a proximate handle corresponding with the second end, a distal handle corresponding with the first end, and a hinge in communication with the proximate handle and the distal handle, the hinge permitting selective angle configurations between the proximate handle and the distal handle about a hinge axis.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising selectively rotating the distal handle relative to the proximate handle about the hinge axis.
 20. A mop assembly, comprising: a collection bucket having one or more sides and a base, the one or more sides and the base forming a cavity with an opening, the base having an aperture; a mop handle having a first end and a second end, the mop handle passing through the aperture, the opening of the collection bucket oriented towards the first end; a mop head in communication with the first end, the mop head extending beyond the cavity, wherein the opening of the collection bucket is larger than a width and length of the mop head; a drainage port located on the base of the collection bucket, the drainage port selectively closeable with a plug; and wherein the mop handle comprises a proximate handle corresponding with the second end, a distal handle corresponding with the first end, and a hinge in communication with the proximate handle and the distal handle, the hinge permitting selective angle configurations between the proximate handle and the distal handle about a hinge axis, and the proximate handle is a telescoping handle. 